Monday, December 03, 2012Last Update: 11:28 PM PT

Public Broadcasting Royalty Rules Revamped

WASHINGTON (CN) - The Library of Congress' Copyright Royalty Board issued new regulations for licensing public broadcasting organizations such as PBS and NPR. The federal Copyright Act requires the government update its license terms and rates for non-commercial television and radio broadcasting every five years. In January 2011, the Copyright Royalty Judges announced that they were seeking public comment for the license period that will span from 2013 to 2017. A number of companies, including National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service and several religious broadcasters negotiated rates and terms over a three-month period. The Copyright Royalty Board announced the new rates and terms for certain media uses in public broadcasting, in an order published Thursday. Among other things, the order set royalty rates for media used in NPR and PBS broadcasts. For example, licensing a musical composition in a PBS feature will cost more than $232, while a song used as a background or theme music for an NPR show will cost 59 cents. The rule also establishes a tiered system for royalty rates for college radio stations based on the number of students at a particular university, with the rates slightly increasing each year. If a college has fewer than 1,000 students, its royalty rates are in the $300 range, while larger universities must pay more. Similarly, the rule establishes tiered rates for non-commercial stations, such as Christian and talk radio based on the number of people the station reaches. The rule is set to go into effect at the beginning of 2013. To learn more, click the document icon for this regulation and others.